Usability Updates NewslettersMarch 2007 Creating Usable Domain Names by Nicole Burton Introduction When the General Services Administration (GSA) changed the names of the U.S. government's official Web portals from FirstGov.gov to USA.gov and FirstGov en español.gov to GobiernoUSA.gov, we researched domain name options and usable domain name characteristics. The strategies for selecting domain names discussed in this article apply to top-level domain names, not to all types of URLs. Ten Characteristics of Usable Domain Names Between our research and experience at GSA, we uncovered 10 characteristics of usable domain names that help to increase trust. The most usable domain names are:
The USA.gov Experience FirstGov.gov had never been a popular name for the official portal of the U.S. government. It was redundant and awkward to say. In fact, GSA conducted several focus groups and learned that many members of the public thought FirstGov.gov referred to a bank or an insurance company, despite the .gov suffix. Some government agencies were hesitant to provide the required link on their homepages because the name didn't mean anything to their customers. In addition, Web logs showed that thousands of people were already typing "USA.gov" into their browsers, guessing at what the name should be. The name originally chosen for the Spanish-language site also had issues; it was a hybrid-language name. "FirstGov en español" did not describe the site from a Spanish-speaking point of view. "Español" means "Spanish" but "FirstGov" has no meaning in the Spanish language. In September 2006, GSA conducted an online survey of Spanish speakers in the U.S. to test five possible names for the Spanish portal. GobiernoUSA.gov was the clear favorite because "gobierno" means "government" in Spanish. Based on this research and direct user feedback, the names for both sites were changed. Both USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov follow the naming conventions of most national and state portals. Twelve Strategies for Usable Domain Names Building trust is an important function of an organization's Web site. You can enhance the trustworthiness of your Web site by using these domain name strategies:
Be sure to usability test domain name options before adopting them. You can test them through online surveys, phone surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one usability studies. Domain names are easier to change before they have been put into production. Related Guidelines Several of the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines support the importance of choosing usable domain names, including 1:3 Understand and Meet Users Expectations; 1:6 Focus on Performance Before Preference; and 2:4 Reduce the User's Workload. Conclusion In his book, Killer Web Content, author and Web content expert Gerry McGovern, likens link-writing to headline writing; by extension, domain naming is akin to marquee construction: Your domain name represents the sign over the front door to your organization. It will be printed on every brochure, press release, report, and business card that your organization or project produces. Make sure your domain name truly welcomes your customers by being easy to find, easy to use, and easy to remember. -------------------------- References Garrett, J.J. (2002, September 24). User-centered URL design. Adaptive Path. McGovern, G. (2006). Killer web content. A&C Black, London Nielsen, J. (1999, March 21, updated 2005). URL as UI. Alertbox. Nielsen, J. (1999, March 21, updated 2005. Compound domain names. Alertbox sidebar. Olson, H. (2003, April 13). User-friendly URLs. GUUUI. Olson, H. (2004). Server side usability. GUUUI. Web Managers Advisory Council. (2007) Domain registration. Webcontent.gov.
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